2014/07/18 by H. Keßler, J. Klinder, M. Wolke +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.quant-gas #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.113.070404
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 070404 (2014) · Article & Supplement, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. (2014)
arxiv created 2014/07/18 · arxiv updated 2014/12/16
A superfluid atomic gas is prepared inside an optical resonator with an ultra-narrow band width on the order of the single photon recoil energy. When a monochromatic off-resonant laser beam irradiates the atoms, above a critical intensity the cavity emits superradiant light pulses with a duration on the order of its photon storage time. The atoms are collectively scattered into coherent superpositions of discrete momentum states, which can be precisely controlled by adjusting the cavity resonance frequency. With appropriate pulse sequences the entire atomic sample can be collectively accelerated or decelerated by multiples of two recoil momenta. The instability boundary for the onset of matter wave superradiance is recorded and its main features are explained by a mean field model.